Policing Protests

The recent arrests of Black Lives Matter protesters have raised an issue that has always plagued protest movements: nuisance laws and other “content-neutral” restrictions that can effectively silence dissent. In this panel, attorneys and activists will discuss the importance of protest in a democracy, the First Amendment rights at stake, and law enforcement’s handling of protesters. These are the panelists:

Scott Holmes (UNC Law ’98), attorney at Brock & Meece, PA, and assistant professor and supervising attorney for the civil litigation clinic at North Carolina Central University School of Law. Holmes has been representing protesters in court for a decade, including the Black Lives Matter Protesters who were recently arrested in Durham.

June Beshea, UNC senior and organizer of The Real Silent Sam movement, which seeks to provoke critical dialogue about monuments and buildings in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Desmera Gatewood, Durham activist and organizer for movements including Black Lives Matter and N.C. Raise Up for $15. Gatewood is getting her master’s degree from the American University School of Public Affairs.

David Ardia, an assistant professor in the UNC School of Law and co-director of the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy, will moderate.